100907 Cell TowersCITY COUNCIL BRIEFING
October 9, 2007
Wireless Demand and Use Permit
Requests for Communication
Towers
•CITY REGULATION
–What do we require?
–What are the criteria
for evaluation?
•LOCATIONS
•APPLICATION
INCREASE
–Demand
–Funding
–911
•ALTERNATIVES /
STEALTH
CITY REGULATION
•Section 232 of the City Zoning Ordinance
provides the standards to be used in
evaluating Use Permit applications for
communication towers.
•Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996
places limitations on what the City can
consider in determining whether to
approve a Use Permit for a tower.
City Regulation of Towers
An Application must include:
•
Site plan
–drawn to scale with details of tower,
buildings, fencing, and landscaping
Report
–from a registered structural or civil engineer
as to tower’s construction
Statement
–from a registered engineer that the NIER
(nonionizingelectromagnetic radiation) does not
exceed the lowest exposure standard established by
the Federal government.
Satisfactory evidence
–from the applicant of the lack
of space on suitable existing towers, buildings, or
other structures
Propagation Maps
City Regulation of Towers
:
Requirements
•
Side and rear yard setback
–are 50 feet in
Residential and Agricultural districts and 25 feet in all
other zoning districts
–No tower may be located closer to an existing
one
residential structure than the distance equal to
hundred twenty-five (125) percent of the total
height
of the tower and all antennae
painted and illuminated
–Towers must be in
accordance with FAA regulations.
Landscape plantings
–must be provided, with the
type, size, and location dependent on the type and
height of tower
City Regulation of Towers
LocationalCriteria:
•
multiple use of a
–Whether the application represents a request for
tower
or site, or use on a site contiguous to an existing site.
report that other potential users
–Whether the application contains a
of the site and tower have been contacted
, and they have no current
plans, to the best of their ability to determine, that could be fulfilled by
joint use.
–Whether the application shows how the tower or site will be designed or
laid out to accommodate future multiple users
.
located in an area where it
–Whether the proposed tower is to be
would be unobtrusive and would not substantially detract from
aesthetics or neighborhood character
, due either to location, to the
nature of surrounding uses (such as industrial uses), or to lackof
visibility caused by natural growth or other factors.
–Whether, if no privately owned land in the area meets the above criteria,
the application is for land owned by the city and leased for fair value,
and which does meet the above criteria.
EXISTING TOWERS
Future
towers?
Primary Tower Construction Firms
•Crown Castle International: www.crowncastle.com
•SBA -Site Locator: http://map.sbasite.com
•American Tower -Site Locator:
www.americantower.com/OasisPublic/Mappoint/de
fault.asp
American Tower Locator
INCREASE IN APPLICATIONS
•Steadily increasing number of users and more
minutes per user
•New equipment to utilize radio spectrum
acquired at most recent FCC auction
•Increased demand for video and services that
require high bandwidth (iPhone/ AT&T)
•New emphasis on the residential customer (“The
Last Frontier”)
•Increase in funding (industry recovering from the
“Tech Crash”at the end of the 1990s)
“Filling the Gaps”& the Residential
Market
“Filling the Gaps”& the Residential
Market
Wireless 911
•Over 70% of the population has a cell
phone.
•Wireless providers are required to ensure
cell phones can reach emergency services
using 911.
Wireless 911
WIRELESS 911 CALLS TO VIRGINIA BEACH EOC (January to June 2007)
JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNTOTAL
WIRELESS 91169,666
11,3519,55011,79212,01412,83912,120
WIRE LINE 91145,650
7,4306,3277,6227,5218,1108,640
NOTE: Usually, more than 1 call per incident is reported via wireless –for example,
a traffic accident can result in more than 1 call.
“STEALTH”ALTERNATIVES
“Fake”Windmill
Tower enclosed within a “fake”silo
Limited coverage antenna on top of a light pole
“Stealth”Alternatives
Antennas located within a
Church steeple
Antennas within a tall flagpole
“Stealth”Alternatives
“Fake”water towers
“Fake”trees
Water Towers
•The City was one of the first to use municipal
water towers for the location of cell antennas.
•There have, however, been issues pertaining to
maintenance of the antennas and security of our
towers. As a result, we are now discouraging
providers from considering the water towers.
•Public Utilities is currently drafting a policy
regarding the use of the towers for cell
antennas. Water towers are not a preferred
solution.
Educational Resources on the Web
•Personal Communications Industry Association (PCIA)
—The Wireless Infrastructure Association:
www.pcia.com
•CTIA —International Association for Wireless
Telecommunications: www.ctia.org
•Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Office of
Engineering and Technology, Radio Frequency Safety:
www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety/rf-faqs.html
•Food and Drug Administration. Cell Phone Facts -
Consumer Information on Wireless Phones:
www.fda.gov/cellphones/